Rocket City Marathon F25-29: Cavett Dominates in the Cold

• Tay Cavett won the F25-29 age group in 2:51:24 (6:32/mi), holding 2nd among all women for most of the race and posting the 3rd-fastest women's split from 10K to the half.
• Deanna Doane ran a remarkably steady race, sitting 4th among women at every checkpoint on her way to 2nd in the age group in 2:57:52.
• Becca Isakoff made the most visible move of the top three, climbing from 7th to 5th among women in the back half to claim 3rd in 2:59:50.
• Maddie Christman and Katie Reese were separated by just 31 seconds at the line (3:11:09 vs. 3:11:40) after both worked steadily through the field all race long.

With 29°F temperatures and a 16 mph wind cutting through Huntsville, Tay Cavett of the host city made the conditions look almost irrelevant. She locked in at 6:32/mi and never wavered from the front of the age group, spending virtually the entire race as the 2nd woman on the course. Her 10K-to-half split ranked 3rd among all women — a stretch where she clearly found her rhythm and separated herself from the F25-29 field for good.

Behind Cavett, Deanna Doane from Jacksonville Beach delivered one of the most consistent performances in the group. She sat 4th among women at the 10K, the half, and at 20 miles, and finished exactly there — 4th among women, 2nd in the age group, in 2:57:52. No drama, no fade, just disciplined execution. Becca Isakoff, by contrast, did her best work late, climbing from 7th to 5th among women after the half to edge under three hours at 2:59:50 — a solid close on a cold, breezy day.

The battle for 4th and 5th was the most compelling subplot in the age group. Maddie Christman from Carmel moved steadily through the field all morning, reaching the finish in 3:11:09. Katie Reese from Clinton was right on her heels, clocking the 13th-fastest women's split from 20 miles to the finish and crossing in 3:11:40 — 31 seconds back after 26.2 miles. Further down the results, Kenna Eldridge and Audrey Allen crossed in identical displayed times of 3:49:19, with the official order separating them by the finest of margins.